So 'Mush' Love for You

Howdy-Ho! TGIF again...is it just me, or do the weeks wizz by at lightning speed? I have been working on our son-in-love's birthday card for 2 days seems like, and I'm happy to get it finished to share with you. This was one of those cards I had trouble forming a clear plan for. Although I had more latitude (he's a dream, loves everything, quite metrosexual), I wanted it to be a clever, light-hearted message. And mushrooms were the first idea I had! Really? LOL, okay, let's go with it. So it was get an idea, find stamps, come up with a way to do it, wash, rinse, repeat. I guess that's why it took me so long to finish but I did enjoy the process!

Papers/Card Stocks: Kraft card base, solid red paper scraps, DCWV 4.5x6.5 Matt Stax patterned paper

Stamps: Sweet Stamp Shop Alpha Tabs, Lawn Fawn Clark's ABCs, Altenew Love You So Mush mushroom and sentiments, Inkadinkado Snail, Third Coast Stamps Fairy Ring, Chatterbox Botanico mushroom, Stamp Magick Toadily siggie

Inks: Memento, VersaFine Clair

Dies: Spellbinders Classic and Torn Edge Ovals

Other: Embossing powder, Sakura glitter gel pen, Fiskars circle punch

  

I used Crazy 4 Challenges current sketch, resizing it in PSE to 5x7 and printing out. Don't ask me why, but I chose to use oval instead of circle elements. And I like them. :-) 

 I found 2 papers that had the same little circles pattern, one gray beige, one gray brown. So I used both, as mushrooms are usually somewhat grey, somewhat brown.

I used my ProMarkers to color the fairy ring and also this ridiculously cute snail that I fussy cut and placed in the ring.

 Here you see the mushroom patterned paper peeking out on each side. Read on about this paper..

I have absolutely zilch in the way of mushroom patterned paper. So, I made my own! I used the cutest little mushroom stamp, solid with little holes. I marked off my paper to know what would be showing, then I stamped the mushroom in gray ink. Then I went back and stamped over random ones with brown ink and black ink. As for the middle panel, I stamped the fairy ring and sentiment, and I was going to blend some inks on the panel so I cut a mask but ended up not doing that.

I used my Poppy Red ProMarker to color the mushroom holes on my paper. I pulled out some alpha tab stamps and stamped words on the gray beige paper scraps. That's another thing I've been doing the last couple of cards: using my alphabet stamps. Again, no plan to beforehand, just had the urge.

 You can hardly see the stamped mushrooms on the ovals under the sentiments, so this is what they looked like before assembly. Probably should have used a little darker ink...

I really do like my diy patterned paper on this card. The red pops it. There's a lot going on here so the bold red and dark browns help ground the card, I think. I do think it might have helped to have incorporated a little green in my diy paper...they say you should never use a color in just one place.

On the inside of my card, I combined sentiments as per my usual. And I lucked out a bit with the last one. Magic Mushrooms, get it? I stamped the little mushroom from my patterned paper on front very lightly in Memento Desert Sand around the plays on words. Again, a bit darker ink would have been better.

The back of my card features scraps leftover from the front and the siggie I recently began using again when I need a punny one. And, mushrooms are also called toadstools. :-)

HELLO THERE!
So proud of the eye job I did on him, with gel pens, after reading a great tip HERE.

CHALLENGES:

1.  Crazy 4 Challenges C4C498: Sketch - Shown above.

2.  2 Crafty Critter Crazies Challenge #29: AG with a Critter - Snail

3.  The House That Stamps Built Challenge DCC A719: Try a New Technique - I tried the eye tip on my snail. I also tried making my own patterned paper.

4.  The House That Stamps Built Challenge A1419: Tic Tac Toe - I chose Dimension (I popped my sentiment strips and multiple paper layers) + Food (mushrooms and escargot) + Bright Colors (red, green, yellow, brown).   

5.  LTCCB #37: Always AG

6.  Aud Sentiments Challenge #234: Masculine + A Sentiment

7.  Cutie Pie Challenge #138: Fave Color Combo - Love Red and Brown together

8.  Try It On Tuesday: In My Garden There Is... - In my Garden, there's mushrooms and snails. :-)

9.  Moo Mania #198: Letters And/or Numbers - I used my alphabet stamps to make words for my sentiments.

10.  I Love ProMarkers #391: AG with ProMarkers - I used them to color my images.

11. Colour Crazy Challenge Week 31: AG with Colouring

12. Outlawz Festive Friday: Birthday Theme

Thanks so much for allowing me to share my creativity with you! Have a great Friday! XOX